Antenna device

Abstract

An antenna device is mounted on a vehicle and performs vehicle-to-vehicle and road-to-vehicle communications using a plurality of communicators including antennas. The antenna device includes one or more hardware processors coupled to one or more memories, and configured to function as, communication control units, a vehicle state detection unit, and operation control units. Communication control units are each provided in one of the plurality of communicators and control transmission/reception operations of the antennas connected to the communicators. A vehicle state detection unit detects a state of the vehicle and operation states of the communication control units. Operation control units are each provided in one of the plurality of communicators and control the operation states of the communication control units according to the state of the vehicle detected by the vehicle state detection unit and the operation states of the communication control units, for each of the plurality of communicators.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An antenna device that is mounted on a vehicle and performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication and road-to-vehicle communication using a plurality of communicators including antennas, the antenna device comprising:
 one or more memories; and   one or more hardware processors coupled to the one or more memories,   the one or more hardware processors being configured to function as:
 communication control units that are each provided in one of the plurality of communicators and control transmission/reception operations of the antennas connected to the communicators; 
 a vehicle state detection unit that detects a state of the vehicle and operation states of the communication control units; and 
 operation control units that are each provided in one of the plurality of communicators and control the operation states of the communication control units according to the state of the vehicle detected by the vehicle state detection unit and the operation states of the communication control units, for each of the plurality of communicators. 
   
     
     
         2 . The antenna device according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the vehicle state detection unit detects that the vehicle is traveling, a traveling place of the vehicle, and the operation states of the communication control units, and   an operation control unit stops a transmission/reception operation of a communication control unit connected to a predetermined antenna among the communication control units when the vehicle state detection unit detects that the vehicle is traveling in a closed space such as a tunnel or an underground parking.   
     
     
         3 . The antenna device according to  claim 2 , wherein
 the operation control unit stops the transmission/reception operation of the antenna connected to the communication control unit on condition that the vehicle state detection unit determines that communication is unavailable.   
     
     
         4 . The antenna device according to  claim 2 , wherein
 the vehicle state detection unit further detects that the vehicle is stopped, and   an operation control unit stops a transmission/reception operation of a communication control unit connected to a predetermined antenna among the plurality of communication control units when the vehicle state detection unit detects that the vehicle is stopped.   
     
     
         5 . The antenna device according to  claim 2 , wherein the one or more hardware processors are configured to further function as:
 a temperature monitoring unit that causes a communicator in which a communication control unit causes an antenna to perform a transmission/reception operation, to monitor a temperature at a predetermined cycle;   a cooling ON/OFF determination unit that starts cooling of the communicator when the temperature monitoring unit detects that the temperature of the communicator is higher than a first predetermined value, and stops cooling of the communicator when the temperature monitoring unit detects that the temperature of the communicator is lower than a second predetermined value that is equal to or lower than the first predetermined value; and   a cooling control unit that controls a cooling device based on a determination result of the cooling ON/OFF determination unit.   
     
     
         6 . The antenna device according to  claim 5 , wherein
 when the cooling control unit performs a cooling operation, the temperature monitoring unit shortens a temperature measurement cycle for monitoring the temperature of the communicator cooled by the cooling control unit as compared with when the cooling control unit stops cooling.   
     
     
         7 . The antenna device according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the first predetermined value is higher than the second predetermined value.   
     
     
         8 . The antenna device according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the cooling ON/OFF determination unit causes the cooling control unit of the communicator to start cooling when the temperature monitoring unit detects that the temperature of the communicator is higher than a first predetermined value consecutively a first predetermined number of times, and causes the cooling control unit of the communicator to stop cooling when the temperature monitoring unit detects that the temperature of the communicator is lower than a second predetermined value consecutively a second predetermined number of times.